Monday, July 15, 2013

I failed to reference it in the rotation reassessment post from this morning, but I'd be remiss if I didn't at least point out the 1 problem the Yankee rotation, and really the pitching staff as a whole, has had this year. It's the long ball. As much as chicks dig it, I have to imagine Joe doesn't when he's working with this weak of an offense and the Yankees have been a bit more generous than usual in allowing them this season. Their 100 allowed as a team and 69 by the starters both rank 10th in MLB and the biggest offender is still a bit surprising.

That offender, of course, is CC Sabathia and his 21 long balls given up. That's tied for 3rd most in baseball this year and is 3 more than the super homer-prone Phil Hughes has allowed. Between the 2, they're responsible for 39 of the rotation's 69 and some of the more crippling ones, like the one Hughes gave up late in Saturday's game or the 3-run homer CC allowed after the Nunez error yesterday. Everyone else's rates have been acceptable, but this number will be worth keeping an eye on in the second half. It'll be tough to stay in contention for long if guys like Kuroda and Pettitte start giving up more dingers.

The Yankees don't step on the field again for a game until Friday. With the bulk of this week being spent on ASG activities and the trade deadline just a few weeks away, it seems like the perfect opportunity to devote some real time to the Yankees' position leading up to the deadline and what moves they should/shouldn't make. The way things have gone this season, the Yanks could very well be out of playoff contention come the end of the month, so for once they'll head into the deadline with more on their minds than just adding a player or 2 for a postseason push. The immediate and distant future of the team can be affected at this trade deadline so let's give it the attention it deserves with a full week of pre-deadline analysis. Today we'll start with the team as presently constructed and its biggest needs.

The All Star break has officially begun for the Yankees after the conclusion of yesterday afternoon's disaster show. Rather than sit here and harp on how pathetic that game was, let's just focus on something positive and pick up where we left off last week with the bullpen. After 95 games, the Yankee rotation is having another solid season. A group that entered the season pretty much set in stone has collectively lived up to expectations, even if some of the individual performances getting there have been uneven and underwhelming.

At the break, the Yankee rotation sits top 15 in MLB in ERA (3.96), FIP (3.90), and K rates and 4th in fWAR (9.1). That high WAR value can be attributed to this group's ability to pitch deep into games and limit walks. They rank 7th in both BB/9 (2.35) and total IP (579.1). Not surprising for a bunch of veterans who know how to pitch in YS3. Moving into the second half, this is the one area that definitely doesn't need attention at the deadline.